A/N: again, thank you all so much! To Romulan Empress: thanks for adding me to your favorite authors list! yes, it most certainly did motivate me! lol. and i can't say this enough, i'm glad you all like my story! feels fantabulouso!
Chapter Four - Dunnn!
Moony paced back and forth across the common room the next morning. Usually he slept late into the day the night after he transformed, but there was no way he could sleep after what had happened ...
"I still don't get it," Padfoot said. "What was she DOING out there that time of night? What was she even doing UP that time of night?"
"And with SNIVELLUS!" Prongs added, seething.
"Didn't you say you ran into her, James?" Moony asked, stopping. "I thought you led her back to here?"
"I thought I did, too," Prongs replied, miserably. "But obviously she must have gotten distracted or something, and then ran into that slimy git!"
"What was HE doing up?" Wormtail said, speaking for the first time.
"No doubt following us and trying to get us in trouble," Padfoot growled. "I swear if I get my hands on him - "
"Don't," Moony interrupted, quietly. "It's my fault."
Prongs immediately started shaking his head. "No, Remus, it isn't! If SNIVELLUS hadn't taken her outside - "
"-then you never would have attacked her," Padfoot finished.
"Yeah!" Wormtail piped up. "And at least you didn't bite her."
Prongs nodded. "Dumbledore knows Hogwarts doesn't need ANOTHER werewolf running around!" Padfoot and Wormtail agreed.
"Maybe Hogwarts never needed ANY werewolves running around," Moony said, quietly.
They all stared at him for a minute. "You can't be serious, mate," Padfoot finally spoke up. "It was just a little accident. Evans was in the wrong place at the wrong time and she just happened to run into Snivellus who we all know would have tried to get her bumped off anyway - "
Remus whirled on them, his eyes shooting off angry sparks. "NO!" he said, fiercely. "Don't you see? You're blaming the WRONG wizard! You can say that it's all Snape's fault this time, but who's to know that it won't happen again? I'm a WEREWOLF in case you lot hadn't noticed! What if I HAD bitten Evans, huh? We wouldn't be able to shrug it off then, would we? I can't control what I do or how I feel when I'm transformed!"
He stopped, embarrassed. His friends were all gaping at him. He turned away from them, ashamed, and said this next part in a whisper. "The fact is ... I think I - a part of me WANTED to bite Evans. A part of me knew I shouldn't, but ... I thought that if I did, then ... I wouldn't be ... ALONE anymore."
No one knew what to say to this, and luckily for them, they didn't have to say anything because voices were drifting down from the girls' staircase.
---
Kathryn took the stairs down to the common room two at a time. Patricia followed behind, shaking her head as Kathryn tripped, and muttering, "Blonde."
(A/N: it's funny because patricia is the one who really is the blonde, just to let you all know, heehee)
"Something's wrong with her," Patricia suddenly said, as they neared the bottom of the stairs. She was talking about Lily.
Kathryn nodded her agreement. "I know. Just last night, before we all went to bed, she was dying to go to the Three Broomsticks."
"Uh, huh. Now she's laying there like she's been petrified," Pat added.
"Maybe she had a bad dream ... " Kathryn said, thoughtfully. "Darn! I wanted her to meet Esther!"
Pat laughed. "Yeah, well, we could always bring her back some things from Honeydukes. And she could meet Esther when she's feeling better."
They traipsed into the common room only to be greeted by silence.
"Did everyone leave already? Why are you still here?" Pat asked Sirius Black, blushing in the process. She, like many other girls at Hogwarts, thought Sirius Black was majorly gorgeous.
He flashed her a grin. "Yeah, but we're too tired. You know, late night ... WANDERINGS and all." This just made Pat blush even worse.
Kathryn rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you AND Lily. I guess she's tired, too, only she's refused to even TALK this morning, so we really don't know what's wrong."
"Mmhmm. She looks like she did when first saw the Bloody Baron," Pat added. "Either that, or when she saw that muggle monster movie. Lily's scared to death of monsters."
Remus flinched at this, almost knocking over a chair. Then, he blushed even more than Patricia had, causing Kathryn to roll her eyes again.
"B-But she didn't SAY anything?" Remus stuttered.
Kathryn shook her head slowly. "Nooo. Why? Do you know - ?"
"No reason," Sirius said quickly. "Just concerned."
Pat gave them an odd look. "Right. Well, we're off to Hogsmeade, then. You're sure you're not coming?"
Peter whined. "I wanna go."
"Go on then," James said, speaking up. "You can bring sweets back with you, and uhhh, keep an eye on ... THINGS." He gave Peter a meaningful look that the girls didn't catch. They were too busy throwing each other disgusted looks. Soon enough, they left with him cheerfully in tow.
---
Lily lay wide awake, shivering. She knew there had to be dark circles under her eyes, as every time she'd go to sleep, she'd wake up soon after, drenched in cold sweat, shaking, and muttering about werewolves.
And not JUST werewolves either. No, there was always a huge black dog charging toward her, too. Lily shivered again. She had never told anyone, not even her two best friends, but she was TERRIFIED of dogs. It wasn't that she didn't trust Pat and Kat, but they had teased her enough when they had discovered her fear of monsters. It was good-natured teasing, but still. Her sister, Petunia, had had a dog once ...
So Remus was a werewolf, Sirius was a Grim, and she didn't even want to think about what James and Peter might be. She didn't want to think about the fact that they were probably all in the common room waiting in their Animagi forms ... waiting for her to come down, so they could tear her to shreds ...
Lily snorted, a very unladylike thing to do. But honestly, she was being ridiculous. She, Lily Evans, was Headgirl of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And she was most definitely NOT afraid of a few unruly seventh year boys. Particularly when they were the same age she was.
"Besides," she said aloud, "they probably went to Hogsmeade anyway. Who wouldn't?" Letting her practical side take over, she showered, dressed, and brushed her hair a hundred times. Mentally promising never to leave her wand behind again, she stuck it into her white jeans pocket, and straightened out her red tank top. Then, she walked slowly around the room, making sure nothing was out of place.
"You're being silly, Lily," she told herself. (A/N: heehee "silly lily" i amuse myself) Then, she took a deep breath, opened the door and descended down the stairs towards the common room.
---
Severus sat alone drinking a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks. He was tired of watching his classmates filter through the door, pass his table, and glare at him for no reason other than that he was sitting there.
And he was tired of pretending that he WASN'T waiting for Lily Evans, when in fact, he was. He told himself that he was just curious. He wanted to know what she thought about the situation, and what she was going to do about it. 'After all,' he thought, snidely. 'She IS Headgirl.'
He sneered at a group of first year Ravenclaws, who steered clear of him. But he sure as hell didn't care. Potter would get EXACTLY what he deserved. Maybe he would even get expelled!
Severus Snape smiled wickedly. THAT'S all HE cared about. He sipped his butterbeer. And he didn't give a DAMN about Lily Evans.
---
Lily walked slowly down the common room stairs, gripping her wand, and listening for sound of any kind. She paused on the last stair and looked around. Then, she relaxed when she saw no one, and let out the breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Potter's voice shouted from somewhere in the middle of the room. He suddenly appeared out of nowhere, his wand in one hand and hers in the other.
Lily gasped. "Wh-What are y-you - ?"
"Element of surprise, Evans," Potter said, smoothly. Subconsciously, he rumpled up his hair. "I need to talk to you. Official Headboy and Headgirl Hogwarts business."
Lily shook in anger. "Did you HAVE to disarm me!?" she hissed, fighting to keep her voice under control.
"Yeah," Potter shrugged. "If I didn't you might have hexed me. I don't trust you, Evans."
Lily glared at him. "Give me back my wand, Potter! Right now!"
"See, Evans? Your temper is part of the problem," he said, cockily. Then, he put his one hand to his chin, and said, thoughtfully, "At least anger isn't as bad as fear."
"Fear?" Lily's voice wavered a little. "I - I don't know what you're talking about! I'm not afraid of anything! GIVE ME MY WAND BACK, NOW!"
He tossed it to her so suddenly that she missed it and had to lean over to catch it, which meant taking her eyes off of James. She straightened back up quickly to find that he had disappeared again.
Then, she stiffened as she heard his voice beside her ear. "So, Evans, does that mean you're not afraid of werewolves?"
Lily felt her throat catch. She was desperate to change the subject. "What sort of HOGWARTS business is this?" she asked, menacingly.
Just then, saving him from having to answer, the door burst open, and in came Lupin and Black. All of them froze at the sight of each other. Well, all froze, except James. No one was quite sure if he froze or not, as no one could see him.
(A/N: he was dancin the do-si-do! But he stopped when he realized he didn't have a partner)
Lily locked startled eyes with Lupin and she unconsciously backed up against the wall next to the girls' staircase. Everyone noticed this, especially Lupin who stared at the floor, his face growing as red as Lily's hair.
"Excuse me," he said quietly, and hurried away towards the boys' dormitories.
Lily's hand clutched her wand as she stared at Sirius. To her surprise, he stepped toward her. He looked slightly embarrassed. "Uh, Evans, hi. Can I ... talk to you?"
Lily tried to back away to discover that she was already backed up against the wall. "No," she choked. "No!"
Black took a deep breath. "Okay, but, uhhh. Could you not tell anyone? Please?"
Lily just stared at him.
"Thanks," he said, taking her silence for, well, the guarantee of silence, I guess. (A/N: weird sentence, I know, give me a break. I don't know the characters in & out. If I did, there'd be no need to write the story) Black hurried up the stairs after Lupin.
"I thought you weren't afraid of anything?" James said from behind her, making her jump.
She spun around. He was visible again. "How are you doing that?" she asked, face flushing. She had avoided the question again.
"Invisibility cloak," he said casually. He smirked. "I would have thought you'd known that by now, Evans. Being HEADGIRL and all."
"Oh," she said. There was an uncomfortable silence.
"What were you doing with Snivellus last night?" he suddenly asked.
Lily looked up at him in surprise, and then her face grew angry again. "Well, let me see. I was on my way back to Gryffindor Tower because some stupid INVISIBLE git had told me that he left the portrait door wide open."
"Oh?" James said, innocently. He batted his eyelashes.
Lily fought the urge to laugh at his expression. She was supposed to be BERATING him, not encouraging him! She continued. "Then I caught Severus sneaking around, and he said something about a werewolf - " She cut herself off, and closed her eyes tightly, remembering how she had wanted to get James in trouble.
"And then he led you outside?" James prodded. Lily nodded, and immediately James's face grew angry. "THAT STUPID SON-OF-A - ! HE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS DOING!"
Lily jumped a mile. "Maybe he didn't know about the danger - "
"How found out about us in fifth year," James interrupted. "How could he not know the danger?"
Lily's face paled. "You've been doing this ever since FIFTH YEAR!? What is the MATTER with you?" she shouted. "You talk about him! How could YOU not know about the danger!? Are you MAD? Are you INSANE? WHAT IF SOMEONE HAD GOTTEN SERIOUSLY INJURED?" (A/N: does she sound too much like hermione there?)
"You didn't get injured," he muttered, staring at the ground.
Lily shut up. His gaze was drop dead serious as he looked back up at her. "You didn't, right? You weren't bitten or anything, right?"
"I-I wasn't," Lily stammered. "But that's be-besides the point!"
"Is it?" he said, raising his eyebrows. She stared at him at a loss for words. Then, he suddenly grinned, and his whole face relaxed. "We don't need another marauder around here, Evans. I wouldn't go patrolling outside anymore if I were you. Especially during full moons."
---
A/N: THANKS AGAIN, GUYS! I COULD NEVER HAVE MADE IT THIS FAR WITHOUT YOU! well, actually, i could, but i just want you to know that your reviews are much appreciated! that said, please review this chapter, too!
Ariana S.
Chapter Four - Dunnn!
Moony paced back and forth across the common room the next morning. Usually he slept late into the day the night after he transformed, but there was no way he could sleep after what had happened ...
"I still don't get it," Padfoot said. "What was she DOING out there that time of night? What was she even doing UP that time of night?"
"And with SNIVELLUS!" Prongs added, seething.
"Didn't you say you ran into her, James?" Moony asked, stopping. "I thought you led her back to here?"
"I thought I did, too," Prongs replied, miserably. "But obviously she must have gotten distracted or something, and then ran into that slimy git!"
"What was HE doing up?" Wormtail said, speaking for the first time.
"No doubt following us and trying to get us in trouble," Padfoot growled. "I swear if I get my hands on him - "
"Don't," Moony interrupted, quietly. "It's my fault."
Prongs immediately started shaking his head. "No, Remus, it isn't! If SNIVELLUS hadn't taken her outside - "
"-then you never would have attacked her," Padfoot finished.
"Yeah!" Wormtail piped up. "And at least you didn't bite her."
Prongs nodded. "Dumbledore knows Hogwarts doesn't need ANOTHER werewolf running around!" Padfoot and Wormtail agreed.
"Maybe Hogwarts never needed ANY werewolves running around," Moony said, quietly.
They all stared at him for a minute. "You can't be serious, mate," Padfoot finally spoke up. "It was just a little accident. Evans was in the wrong place at the wrong time and she just happened to run into Snivellus who we all know would have tried to get her bumped off anyway - "
Remus whirled on them, his eyes shooting off angry sparks. "NO!" he said, fiercely. "Don't you see? You're blaming the WRONG wizard! You can say that it's all Snape's fault this time, but who's to know that it won't happen again? I'm a WEREWOLF in case you lot hadn't noticed! What if I HAD bitten Evans, huh? We wouldn't be able to shrug it off then, would we? I can't control what I do or how I feel when I'm transformed!"
He stopped, embarrassed. His friends were all gaping at him. He turned away from them, ashamed, and said this next part in a whisper. "The fact is ... I think I - a part of me WANTED to bite Evans. A part of me knew I shouldn't, but ... I thought that if I did, then ... I wouldn't be ... ALONE anymore."
No one knew what to say to this, and luckily for them, they didn't have to say anything because voices were drifting down from the girls' staircase.
---
Kathryn took the stairs down to the common room two at a time. Patricia followed behind, shaking her head as Kathryn tripped, and muttering, "Blonde."
(A/N: it's funny because patricia is the one who really is the blonde, just to let you all know, heehee)
"Something's wrong with her," Patricia suddenly said, as they neared the bottom of the stairs. She was talking about Lily.
Kathryn nodded her agreement. "I know. Just last night, before we all went to bed, she was dying to go to the Three Broomsticks."
"Uh, huh. Now she's laying there like she's been petrified," Pat added.
"Maybe she had a bad dream ... " Kathryn said, thoughtfully. "Darn! I wanted her to meet Esther!"
Pat laughed. "Yeah, well, we could always bring her back some things from Honeydukes. And she could meet Esther when she's feeling better."
They traipsed into the common room only to be greeted by silence.
"Did everyone leave already? Why are you still here?" Pat asked Sirius Black, blushing in the process. She, like many other girls at Hogwarts, thought Sirius Black was majorly gorgeous.
He flashed her a grin. "Yeah, but we're too tired. You know, late night ... WANDERINGS and all." This just made Pat blush even worse.
Kathryn rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you AND Lily. I guess she's tired, too, only she's refused to even TALK this morning, so we really don't know what's wrong."
"Mmhmm. She looks like she did when first saw the Bloody Baron," Pat added. "Either that, or when she saw that muggle monster movie. Lily's scared to death of monsters."
Remus flinched at this, almost knocking over a chair. Then, he blushed even more than Patricia had, causing Kathryn to roll her eyes again.
"B-But she didn't SAY anything?" Remus stuttered.
Kathryn shook her head slowly. "Nooo. Why? Do you know - ?"
"No reason," Sirius said quickly. "Just concerned."
Pat gave them an odd look. "Right. Well, we're off to Hogsmeade, then. You're sure you're not coming?"
Peter whined. "I wanna go."
"Go on then," James said, speaking up. "You can bring sweets back with you, and uhhh, keep an eye on ... THINGS." He gave Peter a meaningful look that the girls didn't catch. They were too busy throwing each other disgusted looks. Soon enough, they left with him cheerfully in tow.
---
Lily lay wide awake, shivering. She knew there had to be dark circles under her eyes, as every time she'd go to sleep, she'd wake up soon after, drenched in cold sweat, shaking, and muttering about werewolves.
And not JUST werewolves either. No, there was always a huge black dog charging toward her, too. Lily shivered again. She had never told anyone, not even her two best friends, but she was TERRIFIED of dogs. It wasn't that she didn't trust Pat and Kat, but they had teased her enough when they had discovered her fear of monsters. It was good-natured teasing, but still. Her sister, Petunia, had had a dog once ...
So Remus was a werewolf, Sirius was a Grim, and she didn't even want to think about what James and Peter might be. She didn't want to think about the fact that they were probably all in the common room waiting in their Animagi forms ... waiting for her to come down, so they could tear her to shreds ...
Lily snorted, a very unladylike thing to do. But honestly, she was being ridiculous. She, Lily Evans, was Headgirl of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And she was most definitely NOT afraid of a few unruly seventh year boys. Particularly when they were the same age she was.
"Besides," she said aloud, "they probably went to Hogsmeade anyway. Who wouldn't?" Letting her practical side take over, she showered, dressed, and brushed her hair a hundred times. Mentally promising never to leave her wand behind again, she stuck it into her white jeans pocket, and straightened out her red tank top. Then, she walked slowly around the room, making sure nothing was out of place.
"You're being silly, Lily," she told herself. (A/N: heehee "silly lily" i amuse myself) Then, she took a deep breath, opened the door and descended down the stairs towards the common room.
---
Severus sat alone drinking a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks. He was tired of watching his classmates filter through the door, pass his table, and glare at him for no reason other than that he was sitting there.
And he was tired of pretending that he WASN'T waiting for Lily Evans, when in fact, he was. He told himself that he was just curious. He wanted to know what she thought about the situation, and what she was going to do about it. 'After all,' he thought, snidely. 'She IS Headgirl.'
He sneered at a group of first year Ravenclaws, who steered clear of him. But he sure as hell didn't care. Potter would get EXACTLY what he deserved. Maybe he would even get expelled!
Severus Snape smiled wickedly. THAT'S all HE cared about. He sipped his butterbeer. And he didn't give a DAMN about Lily Evans.
---
Lily walked slowly down the common room stairs, gripping her wand, and listening for sound of any kind. She paused on the last stair and looked around. Then, she relaxed when she saw no one, and let out the breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Potter's voice shouted from somewhere in the middle of the room. He suddenly appeared out of nowhere, his wand in one hand and hers in the other.
Lily gasped. "Wh-What are y-you - ?"
"Element of surprise, Evans," Potter said, smoothly. Subconsciously, he rumpled up his hair. "I need to talk to you. Official Headboy and Headgirl Hogwarts business."
Lily shook in anger. "Did you HAVE to disarm me!?" she hissed, fighting to keep her voice under control.
"Yeah," Potter shrugged. "If I didn't you might have hexed me. I don't trust you, Evans."
Lily glared at him. "Give me back my wand, Potter! Right now!"
"See, Evans? Your temper is part of the problem," he said, cockily. Then, he put his one hand to his chin, and said, thoughtfully, "At least anger isn't as bad as fear."
"Fear?" Lily's voice wavered a little. "I - I don't know what you're talking about! I'm not afraid of anything! GIVE ME MY WAND BACK, NOW!"
He tossed it to her so suddenly that she missed it and had to lean over to catch it, which meant taking her eyes off of James. She straightened back up quickly to find that he had disappeared again.
Then, she stiffened as she heard his voice beside her ear. "So, Evans, does that mean you're not afraid of werewolves?"
Lily felt her throat catch. She was desperate to change the subject. "What sort of HOGWARTS business is this?" she asked, menacingly.
Just then, saving him from having to answer, the door burst open, and in came Lupin and Black. All of them froze at the sight of each other. Well, all froze, except James. No one was quite sure if he froze or not, as no one could see him.
(A/N: he was dancin the do-si-do! But he stopped when he realized he didn't have a partner)
Lily locked startled eyes with Lupin and she unconsciously backed up against the wall next to the girls' staircase. Everyone noticed this, especially Lupin who stared at the floor, his face growing as red as Lily's hair.
"Excuse me," he said quietly, and hurried away towards the boys' dormitories.
Lily's hand clutched her wand as she stared at Sirius. To her surprise, he stepped toward her. He looked slightly embarrassed. "Uh, Evans, hi. Can I ... talk to you?"
Lily tried to back away to discover that she was already backed up against the wall. "No," she choked. "No!"
Black took a deep breath. "Okay, but, uhhh. Could you not tell anyone? Please?"
Lily just stared at him.
"Thanks," he said, taking her silence for, well, the guarantee of silence, I guess. (A/N: weird sentence, I know, give me a break. I don't know the characters in & out. If I did, there'd be no need to write the story) Black hurried up the stairs after Lupin.
"I thought you weren't afraid of anything?" James said from behind her, making her jump.
She spun around. He was visible again. "How are you doing that?" she asked, face flushing. She had avoided the question again.
"Invisibility cloak," he said casually. He smirked. "I would have thought you'd known that by now, Evans. Being HEADGIRL and all."
"Oh," she said. There was an uncomfortable silence.
"What were you doing with Snivellus last night?" he suddenly asked.
Lily looked up at him in surprise, and then her face grew angry again. "Well, let me see. I was on my way back to Gryffindor Tower because some stupid INVISIBLE git had told me that he left the portrait door wide open."
"Oh?" James said, innocently. He batted his eyelashes.
Lily fought the urge to laugh at his expression. She was supposed to be BERATING him, not encouraging him! She continued. "Then I caught Severus sneaking around, and he said something about a werewolf - " She cut herself off, and closed her eyes tightly, remembering how she had wanted to get James in trouble.
"And then he led you outside?" James prodded. Lily nodded, and immediately James's face grew angry. "THAT STUPID SON-OF-A - ! HE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HE WAS DOING!"
Lily jumped a mile. "Maybe he didn't know about the danger - "
"How found out about us in fifth year," James interrupted. "How could he not know the danger?"
Lily's face paled. "You've been doing this ever since FIFTH YEAR!? What is the MATTER with you?" she shouted. "You talk about him! How could YOU not know about the danger!? Are you MAD? Are you INSANE? WHAT IF SOMEONE HAD GOTTEN SERIOUSLY INJURED?" (A/N: does she sound too much like hermione there?)
"You didn't get injured," he muttered, staring at the ground.
Lily shut up. His gaze was drop dead serious as he looked back up at her. "You didn't, right? You weren't bitten or anything, right?"
"I-I wasn't," Lily stammered. "But that's be-besides the point!"
"Is it?" he said, raising his eyebrows. She stared at him at a loss for words. Then, he suddenly grinned, and his whole face relaxed. "We don't need another marauder around here, Evans. I wouldn't go patrolling outside anymore if I were you. Especially during full moons."
---
A/N: THANKS AGAIN, GUYS! I COULD NEVER HAVE MADE IT THIS FAR WITHOUT YOU! well, actually, i could, but i just want you to know that your reviews are much appreciated! that said, please review this chapter, too!
Ariana S.